Caniacs unite: Tailgaters revel in the Hurricanes’ return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Stanley Cup Playoffs have returned to Raleigh, and with their arrival — coupled with relaxed COVID-19 restrictions — the famous (infamous?) Carolina Hurricanes tailgate parties have, too.

Even with some passing rain, revelers lined the lots outside PNC Arena on Monday, hours before the doors opened to allow up to 12,000 fans in to see the Canes face the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of their best-of-seven playoff series.

Before the so-called Caniacs got into the building, there was plenty of hockey to be found on the grounds, with street hockey games set up between the cars, many of which were adorned with Hurricanes flags flapping in the mist, hung from windows and draped over their tailgates.

And the food — oh yes, the cacophony of grilled and fried tailgate delicacies sent a haze of smoke across the lot, each smell different than the next, but all equally satisfying to the sense of smell.

Susie Brownell of Raleigh said her excitement level was on a 15 on a scale of 1-10 and would have been in the parking lot at 3 p.m. if she didn’t have to work.

“For us it’s a huge deal (being back at PNC). We’ve been counting on this since 10 o’clock on Saturday when we got our tickets.”

Driving up, seeing all the flags and smelling the food off the grills only added to the excitement for Brownell.

“The first thing we did was blow the horn three times (for let’s go Canes). But to see the people and feel the excitement has been great ... and we saw the Pig (Hamilton).”

Hamilton the pig — remember him? — didn’t wait for the game result to start taking what could be construed as victory laps around the lot as fans chanted: “Ham-il-ton! Ham-il-ton!”

The celebrated swine, who helped bring the Canes “good luck” in the team’s 2019 playoff run, was back for more Monday to help the team kick off this year’s attempt at 16 wins over the next two months as they try to capture the Cup for the first time in 15 years.

Natalie Miller of Youngsville held up a sign that said “honk if you love hockey” that kept her area on the outskirts of the parking loud. For Miller and her group, the return to the postseason was a relief from a year in quarantine and a reunion of friends she hadn’t seen since the last playoff trip.

“I have been excited for weeks,” Miller said as fans continued to honk their horns. “This is the most excited I’ve been in a really long time because I haven’t been able to go to any of the games. Last year in the bubble messed all that up. This is very exciting for us.”

As the rest of her group munched on pizza and other treats, Miller reflected on being back in their normal tailgate spot for the first time in over a year. “We could be back home and have to watch this on television. Being able to get out ... tons of fun.”

An hour before puck drop, the line in front of PNC stretched back to the road between the arena and the concourse outside of Carter-Finley Stadium, the football stadium that shares a lot on NC State’s campus with the multi-purpose arena. All of the visible parking lots appeared to be full, and the lines stretched the length of a football field at each entrance. It was a sea of red and black jerseys.